Let's make the world a more humane place

In his continued attempts to provide financial support to the flailing dairy industry, US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue rolled back First Lady Michelle Obama’s public school lunch nutrition initiative this week. The change in policy will allow schools to provide artificial chocolate milk to children rather than promoting healthier, more sustainable, and humane plant-based milks.

Perdue’s decision should come as no surprise as he has a sordid history of putting his political self-interests and corporate welfare ahead of the well-being of America’s children, animals, and the environment.

The myth about milk is dying like the cows it kills. Milk is not healthy. As sales of plant-based milk soar, so much so that even the dairy industry is aggressively lobbying Congress and the FDA to prevent nut-based milk companies from calling themselves milk, dairy executives are scrambling to retain customers. They have a close ally in Perdue.

“I’ve got 14 grandchildren, and there is no way that I would propose something if I didn’t think it was good, healthful, and the right thing to do,” Perdue said.

Thus, according to Perdue, it is the good, healthful, and the right thing to do to feed children, including his grandchildren, a drink that has been proven to cause acne, diarrhea, cramps, and obesity, and increases children’s risk of cancer, hip fractures, and death. These study results do not even address the inhumane and environmentally unsustainable nature of the dairy industry.

The dairy industry applauded Perdue’s nutrition reversal. “In just the first two years after low-fat flavored milk was removed from the program, 1.1 million fewer school students drank milk with their lunch,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. Mulhern failed to mention that’s a positive outcome. No children should be drinking cow’s milk.

Are you tired of political hacks abandoning our children to line their pockets and fill corporate coffers with billions in profits? Please call the USDA today at (202) 720-2791 and tell Sonny Perdue what you think of his decision to ignore climate change, abuse cows, and make our children sick to funnel another handout to his friends in the dairy industry.

I appreciate your including a number to call and voice our disappointment over these matters. I am new to calling officials and government offices, and kind of wish I had a script or sample, so here is my attempt at one for anyone in a similar position.

My name is __________ and I’m a voter living in _____ (state). I’m calling to voice my extreme displeasure with the obvious preference Mr. Perdue is giving his friends in the dairy industry, while at the same time intentionally causing harm to everyone else. Climate change is a scientific fact, and dairy factory farming is a major contributor to it, and moreover, dairy products are unhealthy for everyone at every level as has been proven repeatedly in study after study. Thank you for your time.

It’s not very good, wrote it rather quickly, any tips, particularly to make it shorter while being effective?

Thank you for taking action Melissa! Your script is terrific. You may consider adding specific language about the policy roll back so it’s clear why you’re calling.

For example: “I’m calling to oppose Secretary Perdue’s decision to roll back healthier school lunch requirements for children.” And then discuss the impact of cow’s milk on children’s health, the environment, and animals.